Some concerned over reopening Main Street too soon

Crews working to reopen Main Street in Ellicott City after floods

A portion of downtown Main Street in Ellicott City is set to reopen next week as improvements continue to be made, but that's drawing safety concerns from some who believe things may moving a bit too fast. While many people are anxious to return to normal, there are safety questions from some about whether things are moving a little too fast or too slow. Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman called it another feat for crews working hard to get Main Street back open in downtown Ellicott City.

A portion of downtown Main Street in Ellicott City is set to reopen next week as improvements continue to be made, but that's drawing safety concerns from some who believe things may moving a bit too fast.

While many people are anxious to return to normal, there are safety questions from some about whether things are moving a little too fast or too slow.

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Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman called it another feat for crews working hard to get Main Street back open in downtown Ellicott City.

"We're trying to shrink that perimeter to make it more (accessible) to more people," Kittleman said.

The section from Ellicott Mills to Court Avenue reopened recently, and on Monday, the reopened portion will be extended to Forrest Street, which will mean more businesses can reopen.

"This past couple weeks plus, we've been able to get a lot of work done we couldn't do before because of other people on the street, but now it's closed to let them work. They've been working hard, tirelessly, so I'm happy with the progress," Kittleman said.

Since the storm on July 30, some people have expressed concern about reopening Main Street too soon, saying more should be done to make sure it doesn't flood again. Kittleman said they will do that, but right now, it's about getting back to normal.

"We're not building it the way it's always going to be right now. We're rebuilding it so people can get back in, they can rebuild their businesses, their properties, so they can get back to normalcy while we look at other ways to mitigate in the future," Kittleman said.

Howard County Councilman Jon Weinstein, whose district includes Ellicott City, agrees with Kittleman's thinking on this, and he recently introduced legislation to temporarily stop development in the watershed that feeds into the historic district.

"The problem that we have is not knowing the full impact of existing development as well as new development on the problems that we've experienced in the historic district," Weinstein said.